Dangerous Liasions
by windy13
Summary: Inoue Orihime a human with unique abilities has been taken prisoner by the espada after the loss of the Winter War.Will she be able to escape, or will something far more potent tie her to Hueco Mendo?
1. Chapter 1

Note: This is my first time writing fan fiction, so if I am too abrupt please let me know. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: The characters and everything else you recognize is the property of Kubo Tite.

Chapter 1

Her head felt so heavy as she struggled to open her eyes.

_Why does it hurt so much?_

Slowly, wincing with pain she got up, opening her eyes forcibly and gasped. Crowds of people, shinigami and humans were cramped into a room with high ceilings. Frantic grey eyes searched for a familiar face as her bewildered mind tried to comprehend what was happening. Ignoring the pain in her ribs, she staggered through the crowd, panic rising with each unknown face, each pair of eyes reflecting the same horror she felt was present in her own.

Unable to bear the pain any longer, she leaned against the wall and forced her pounding head to think, to remember.

_Flashback_

_The sky was littered with strange people, their movements too fast for her eyes to follow. They all seemed the same, despite the stark contrast in their clothes, brandishing swords that could do strange things. She had watched them, frozen in her place on the ground, a nameless dread gripping her. She had watched in horror as one by one th-_

She was jolted out of her thoughts when someone slammed into her side, bringing in a sharper wave of pain and dizziness. A shaking hand felt to see if her hairpins were intact. She had never known where her power had come from. When she saw the people in black garb, _shinigami _she remembered the people in white had called them, she had felt a strange sense of solidarity with them. Many a night she had lain with hazy images of a monster with a mask, _her brother _her mind whispered, and a shinigami who had protected and saved her. The memories were fleeting, teasing her and ultimately slipping through her grasp.

Months later she had encountered another one of those creatures, and this time something far more amazing had happened, her hairpins, a gift from her beloved brother had saved her. She had imagined uncountable times how it would feel to be a superhero, but she hadn't felt anything like that, she hadn't felt _confident _and _happy_. If anything, it had fueled her sense of confusion and unease.

She was shocked out of her reverie by the door slamming open. Her eyes widened and she instinctively shrank back with the crowd, taking in the huge sword, _if _it could even be called that, the feral grin.

"Well aren't you the lucky few?"

His grin widened taking in their varied reactions. Without warning, he grabbed a blonde woman from the crowd.

"Guess you will do well enough"

"Nnoitra sama we were asked to wait for orders from Aizen sama"a blonde man intervened . In a blur of movement, the man was thrown against the wall.

"Who the hell asked your opinion?"

"My deepest apologies Nnoitra sama" the man said, as he calmly got up to follow the black haired man who was dragging the woman behind. As the door shut behind them, the silence they left behind was deafening.

For the first time in her life, she wished she was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Bleach and everything recognizable in this story is the property of Kubo Tite.

Chapter 2

In the silent corridors the sound of steady footsteps seemed louder. The person had an air of barely suppressed excitement around him. His smirk widened as he reached his destination. With an air of a star performer making his grand entrance, he pushed the door open.

…...

Time had passed slowly for the prisoners.

_Nothing can be worse _thought Orihime, _than this dreadful stillness, this sense of wondering and waiting for something to happen yet fearing it._

She stiffened at the sound of the opening door and gazed with trepidation at the man standing them. He looked human and strangely studious. She couldn't see any hole on him but she knew by his white uniform, that he was with _them_, that he was the enemy.

The man flung his hands out and spoke.

"Greetings…hmm now what should I say? Fellow beings would be too insulting, prisoners too rude I believe,… ladies and gentlemen then! Welcome to Hueco Mendo!"

His grin widened with obvious glee.

" I can't remember the last time I have had such fun. Now who to pick first?"

He covered his face with his hands in a contemplative gesture. Barely seconds later he laughed suddenly.

"Oh my! How rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself yet"

He straightened up and stood tall and proud.

" I am Szayel Aporro Granz, Octavo Espada"

He looked at the blank faces of most of the crowd and made an annoyed noise.

" How presumptuous of me to assume that you all would know what an espada is. Let me enlighten you then, hollows who have achieved shinigami powers are the Arrancar, the ten strongest Arrancar numbered according to their strength are the espada."

His eyes narrowed.

"I believe we have wasted enough time in pleasantries. I must make my choices before the others start coming."

He threw the shinigami a disdainful look.

"I have no interest in shinigami _yet._ I know all about your motley bag of tricks."

He started walking towards the clusters of humans.

"Humans so weak, so fragile, yet so interesting… at least for a while. What makes you see us? What do you have, what hidden ability however inferior? I can't wait to find out."

His eyes gleamed with a maniac light.

" They say adversity is the first path of truth. We'll begin that way shall we? Allow me to introduce you to my Fraccions."

And after hours of inactivity, it was pandemonium. Orihime noticed as she did her best to avoid being hit by humans and Fraccions alike, that they weren't trying to kill anyone, merely moving and attacking wildly.

The shinigami tried to help them but the espada easily took care of them. Just when it seemed as if the room was going to cave in on them, the pointless attacking stopped.

"How disappointing" his voice drifted out to them.

" It seems your _only_ special ability is to see us. As such, you are worthless to me".

"Kill them."

She watched in horror as the Fraccions prepared to crush whovever was unfortunate enough to be in their path.

The words spilled out before she could stop them.

"Santen Kesshun I reject."

A bright light came from her hairpins and to the amazement of all present, a shield formed between the ghastly creatures and the humans.

"I see we have a winner"

Orihime stumbled back in surprise as the pink haired man materialized in front of her shield. He touched lightly with unconcealed interest.

The silence was almost painful as he walked towards her. Her hairpins glowed as her powers returned to her. She flinched as his amber eyes gazed almost reverently at them.

" You will come with me. I assure you it's quite an honor to be even thought let alone selected for observation by me."

He turned to go. As she followed him outside and watched as the door closed behind them, she caught one last glimpse of the frightened faces staring back at her. She felt a strange feeling of sadness. Even though she hardly knew them and their time together had been very brief, they had shared a common and a most potent emotion together, fear.

_What is going to happen to me now?_

_..._

Thanks for all the awesome reviews. I hope this chapter is long enough. I really hated Szayel, his fights were too drawn out. I hope I have managed to right him in character though. The next chapter will be up my Monday. Please forgive any editing mistakes, it's nearly midnight here and I am half asleep. Thanks again so much!


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